Powerwave Shares Fall on Reverse Split

Shares of Powerwave Technologies Inc. plummeted Friday after the Santa Ana company announced a reverse stock split.

Powerwave, which makes cellular base station gear for wireless networks, said its board and stockholders approved a 1-for-5 reverse split of its outstanding shares of common stock and a reduction of authorized shares of its common stock effective today.

The split apparently unsettled Wall Street, as investors sent shares down more than 19% at the close of trading Friday, to a market value of about $107 million.

Powerwave expects the split-adjusted shares of its common stock will begin trading Monday on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

The move may have been initiated to prop up Powerwave’s share price and stave off a possible delisting by Nasdaq.

Shares dipped below $1 on Oct. 19, a day after the company made a drastic cut on its revenue expectations for the recently ended quarter.

Companies listed on the Nasdaq are required to maintain shares above $1.

“If a company trades for 30 consecutive business days below the $1 minimum closing bid price requirement, Nasdaq will send a deficiency notice to the company, advising that it has been afforded a ‘compliance period’ of 180 calendar days to regain compliance with the applicable requirements,” according to listing requirements on its website.

Powerwave said it will likely have revenue between $75 million to $79 million for its third quarter, which ended Oct. 2.

Wall Street analysts on average had expected revenue between $162 million and $175 million.

The cash-strapped company is facing a litany of problems as it strives for longterm viability.

The company cited a “significant” slowdown in spending by North American network operators and the stalled merger between AT&T Inc. in Dallas and Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile USA Inc., the U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom AG for the revenue drop.

It also said it’s seeing less demand from its manufacturing customers, along with weakness in international markets.

Powerwave said in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission earlier this month it plans to sell its Santa Ana headquarters in one of the larger office deals of the year.

The company is expected to lease back the property from the new owners under a long-term lease.